Linfield the worst run club I've seen - Lafferty

Kyle Lafferty failed to score for Linfield in his short stint at Windsor Park

Former Northern Ireland striker Kyle Lafferty says Irish Premiership champions Linfield are "probably the worst run club I've ever seen in my life".

Lafferty spent the second half of the 2022-23 season at Linfield, where he failed to score a goal in eight appearances.

Speaking on the Open Goal podcast, the 38-year-old said he "literally could have left after two weeks", adding the way the Windsor Park club was run "was a shambles".

He said the job that Linfield manager David Healy, who has won six Irish League titles, has done is "incredible" and he "respects him so much".

"I'm happy I played with Linfield because they were my team growing up," Lafferty said.

"It's probably the worst run club I've ever seen in my life. I'm at Johnstone Burgh in junior football and they are run better than Linfield."

He added: "Linfield are the biggest club in Northern Ireland but, honestly, it was a shambles.

"I didn't score for them, and I literally could have left after two weeks. I wasn't enjoying my time there."

In a statement to BBC Sport NI, Linfield said they "totally refute the allegations made by our former player made about his short time at the club".

Lafferty scored 20 goals in 89 caps for Northern Ireland, including a crucial run of form that helped Michael O'Neill's side reach the Euro 2016 finals.

At club level, the forward made his name at Burnley and Rangers before he moved across Europe to a number of clubs including Sion, Palermo, Norwich City, Hearts, a second stint at Ibrox, Sunderland and Reggina.

Linfield became the 15th different club of Lafferty's career in January 2023 when he was released by Kilmarnock, but he left Windsor Park at the end of the season with a handful of appearances and no goals as the Blues missed out on the title to Larne.

He then joined Johnstone Burgh in the seventh tier of Scottish football, where he has helped the club win the Scottish Junior Cup in June.

When asked what the issue was with how Linfield were run, Lafferty said: "It was everything".

"They were paying a cafe around the corner £6,000 a month for the food for the lads. It would come in big silver containers and we would be having chicken curry before a game.

"Some of the food was awful. David Graham tried to come in and change that [as general manager], but they were like, 'we owe loyalty to this guy around the corner because he has helped Linfield for so many years'.

"They wasted money on stupid things, and that is why I think what David Healy has done over there is incredible."